High speed communication systems are known. Such systems typically use copper wires and transmit signals using electrical impulses transmitted over wires. While the system has worked well the evolution of data processing hardware has introduced drawbacks associated with the use of wire-based digital communication systems.
As time has passed competition between producers of data processing equipment has resulted in a need to reduce prices by increasing speed of and reducing the size and parts-count of components included in data processing devices. The increased speed has resulted in problems associated with high frequency communications including stray capacitances and inductances. The further the transmission distance the greater the problems. In general most wire-based data communication systems operate at maximum speed for any given application under current technology.
Reducing the size of digital processing devices has also exacerbated the problem of digital communication systems. The reduced size has resulted in the location of devices in closer proximity than previously experienced and has therefore created additional problems with heat and further electromagnetic interference.
One solution to these problems has been to use fiber optics communication devices, Fiber optics, as is well known in the art, offer extremely high speed communications while generating virtually no interference. Fiber optics devices, on the other hand, suffer from the difficulty of bulky connection devices. The bulky devices have been necessary because of the criticality of alignment between fiber optics wave-guides. Further problems include difficulty in routing optical signals to multiple destinations without first converting from an optical to an electric signal. It is the intent of the subject invention to provide a apparatus and a method to solve these problems in the use of optical communication systems.